Rest of June

I can't believe June has come and gone already.  We've been looking forward to June for so long, I can't believe it finally came.  We've had a great month with cute baby Carter.  He is so precious.  We can't imagine our family without him.  I definitely feel like our home and family are more complete with him here.  He's brought a special spirit into our home for sure.  We love him so much!

I want to catch up the past few weeks with Carter.  Before talking about anything else, I want to thank everyone for being so kind and thoughtful to our family the past month.  We really appreciate the visits, meals, gifts and kind gestures from family and friends.  It's really made the past month easier and more enjoyable.  Thank you all!

The week after Carter was born, Pauline came over and took some pictures of him.  Here are some of my favorites.  Thanks for the wonderful pictures Pauline; they're so precious!  You're amazing!

 

 

Sunday June 19th, was Father's Day.  Steve took Nyles to church and I stayed home w/ Carter.  Steve said they gave the kids candy to give to the dad's, but of course Nyles wanted to eat it himself.  He did the same thing for Mother's day.  How can you blame a kid though right?  Here are some fun things Nyles said about Steve.  The first he filled out at church and the second I helped him with.

That afternoon we went over to Melanie and Brandon's for dinner.  Nyles had a great time playing w/ cousins.  It was nice for me to get out as well.  I've been feeling pretty good actually, after the first week, but it's been so hot outside (in the 90's), that I haven't dared take Carter outside.  It was great to visit w/ family again as well.

Nyles driving an ATV.

Steve being the Hulk and lifting Nyles up.

The men being Super Heroes.

Brandon-Iron Man, Dave-Captain America, Steve-the Hulk, Jeff-Spiderman, and Phill-Batman.

London, Conor and Nyles playing on the trampoline.

 

 Stacie and Ethan holding baby Carter.

The guys dipping Chandler into a bucket of water-he deserved it needless to say ;)

Joann holding baby Carter.  He slept the whole evening and enjoying being held by everyone ;)

        

The next day we got the pool out and played in the back yard.  It sure was hot outside, but Nyles had a blast playing in the pool.  First he ate a Popsicle, then he loved playing a game "pour water on daddy."  He even poured a bucket on himself.  Silly kid ;)

On Tuesday, June 20th Barbara came down from Idaho w/ her 6 kids to visit.  She stayed w/ Pauline for the week, but came over to visit that night.  The kids stayed at Pauline's house while Pauline and Barbara came over to hold baby Carter.  They could only stay about an hour, then had to get home to get the kids to bed.  

The next day Steve drove out to Pauline's house w/ Nyles and went w/ Pauline and Barbara over to Herriman Reservoir to swim.  Steve said the water was a little cold, but Nyles still had a great time.

Friday morning we decided to go up to Silver Lake since it would be cooler up at the top of Big Cottonwood Canyon, and we wouldn't be as much in a crowded area (for Carter's sake only being 2 weeks old).  It was beautiful up there as usual and the weather was wonderful.  We had a good walk around the lake, then had a picnic lunch afterwards.  It was nice to get out in the outdoors and take Carter on an outing.  Rose was gone at Girl's Camp, otherwise I'm sure she and the girls would have joined us too.

Taking a stroll around Silver Lake.  

All the kids: Carter, Calley, Abby, Mikey, Ryan, Nyles, Brady, Charlotte, Dallin and Ezra.

Carter enjoying the ride.  He slept the whole ride up and around the lake.

 Charlotte taking Nyles hand, Barbara w/ Calley and Abby.

  

Our picnic lunch.

Pauline, Barbara and I.

Steve and Nyles waiting and enjoying the outdoors while I fed Carter before heading down the canyon again.

On the 28th it was Rob's birthday.  We had him over for dinner and made him a cake.  He picked out a strawberry cake w/ strawberry frosting (since he'd never tried it before he said).  It was surprisingly good.  We all liked it; it was really moist!

Nyles refraining from blowing out the candles for Rob.

On the 29th it was Olivia Lake's birthday party.  We went over in the afternoon to celebrate w/ them.  They had a water slide, snow cones and dinner.  It was a lot of fun!  We all had a great time!  Thanks for the fun afternoon!

Nyles going down the slide, now Conor.

Steve and Nyles going down the slide.

We've been working on the house some more, a little here and there as well. Steve painting the formal living room after fixing a few spots we had to patch up on the wall.

Steve also planted more flowers in front of the porch.  

  

Steve had 2 tree companies come over and tell us about our trees.  They suggested cutting down several of them, especially our Cottonwood trees in the back.  The main reasons for that is that they are getting really big and ruining our back patio cement area, plus they're hindering the growth of other trees.  There are also unwanted runners growing everywhere from the trees all over our yard and lawn.  We will likely cut them down eventually, we just haven't decided when.  They also suggested cutting out our tree in the front.  They called it a junk tree.  It has grown a lot since we've moved in, and will continue to do so they said.  After getting the advice, Steve decided to cut down the smaller trees himself.

Steve getting his chainsaw ready.

The Elm Tree we cut down in the front.

Steve cutting it down.  

All done.

Steve cutting down some other trees in the back yard.  

Nyles being a big helper carrying the branches away.

Carter just being cute.

 

Steve had two lucky days you could say.  He said he wanted to get Nyles out of the house and let me rest, and I'm sure he wanted to get out of the house as well.  The first day he went to Scheels and ironically they must have had a "free day."  They let Nyles and Steve ride on the Ferris Wheel for free, and do some games like shoot the ducks.  Nyles had a blast!  You can't beat free entertainment either.

The next day Steve decided to go to Cabelas and let Nyles look at the fish.  As they were entering the store an employee asked Steve if he would take a survey and by doing so he would get a $100 gift card.  Steve asked how long it would take and the guy said about 30 minutes.  Since they weren't in a hurry, and Steve could easily think of things to spend the money on, he said he would.  He asked if they could take the survey outside so Nyles could play on some of the rafts outside, and the employee said sure.  Well, after about 20 minutes, Steve was done w/ the survey, and they gave him a $100 gift card to Cabelas.  Steve then went in the store and found something to spend his money on.  When he got home I could hear loud thunks as Steve came up the stairs.  As he came into our room he was carrying a large box.  He then told me the story of how he basically got a gun safe for free at Cabelas.  Lucky boy again!

The gun safe.

Nyles at the dentist.  No cavities, yeah!

Some pics of Nyles.  He loves his fireworks shirt :)

June was great!  Thanks again everyone for your kind deeds!  Love ya! :)

Meet Carter Alan McGrath!

He's finally here!  Carter Alan McGrath was born Wednesday, June 8th at 2:52 pm at Alta View Hospital in Sandy, Utah.  He weighed 9 lbs 2 oz and was 21 inches long.  As I mentioned he must have been pretty cozy in there, because he didn't seem to want to come on his own.  My due date was Sunday the 12th, but we set the induction date on the 8th as a backup, but it ended up being his birth date.  I didn't want to go past my due date, but also wanted to give him plenty of time to get here too.  I think we were pretty patient waiting for him and gave him plenty of time to get here, and I'm especially glad we didn't wait any longer since he would have been even bigger!

I want to write down the labor and delivery part so I can remember it (sorry if it's long).  We were scheduled to be induced the morning of the 8th.  They called us the night before and said we were good to go in the morning, but just to call one more time in the morning to make sure there was still room at the hospital for us.  We called at 7am that morning and they said they were all ready for us and to head on over.  Joann came over to sit w/ Nyles, then we left to go to the hospital.

I was nervous of course, both since I've never been induced before and didn't know what to expect necessarily, and also just in general the whole labor and delivery process wasn't exactly something I was looking forward to.  I've never been good w/ needles and medical procedures, and having a baby is definitely one of them.  I felt like I did pretty good through this pregnancy though w/ the shots and blood drawing and other uncomfortable procedures they have had to do.  Steve also gave me many blessings of comfort during the pregnancy and right before we went in to the hospital to deliver.  Steve has also been to every one of my Dr appointments, which for me has been a big help and relieved some of my anxiety when going.  I couldn't have done it without him.

We also had really great nurses the whole time at the hospital, especially the one who was there for the labor and delivery part.  We told her about by "situation" of passing out and whatnot, and was completely understandable.  She was really patient with me during the whole process.  She made sure I was comfortable and aware and did whatever she could to make it easier for me.  She was also really experienced, over 25 years as a nurse.   I'm really thankful to have had such a great nurse.  It was such a blessing and definitely made my job easier per say.

After we checked in, they got us to our room, I changed, and we got started.  Dr. Tweed came shortly after and broke my water to get the process started.  A little while later the nurse started the Pitocin to get the contractions moving.  She gradually increased the dosage to keep things moving along.  I was dilated to 4cm around 11am or so, then decided to get the epidural, with a little encouragement from Steve and the nurse.  I wasn't sure what to expect w/ the epidural since last time I was still pretty uncomfortable even w/ it.  I'm not sure if it was the epidural or maybe since Nyles was facing the wrong way, but I still had a lot of pain in my back.  Plus since I don't like needles, I wasn't wanting to get the epidural since it's painful anyway, and once you have it you're bound to the bed.

Luckily the anesthesiologist did a great job and soon enough it started to block my pain.  I also started to relax and could actually sleep a little.  Around 1pm I was at 5 cm and feeling good w/ the epidural.  Steve asked the nurse what time she thought the baby would be be here, and she said maybe around 4 or 5 pm.  Dr. Tweed also called and asked how far I was at this time, and w/ that he expected he wouldn't be back to the hospital until later this evening to help deliver the baby.  So, with that, I told Steve he should go get something to eat for lunch.  While he was gone I was able to sleep a little, which was great.

When he got back around 2pm, the nurse asked how I was doing.  I told her I was feeling fine, just the normal "numbness" feeling in my legs, and some "pressure" down there.  I told her I wasn't sure what I was supposed to be feeling, so she said she would check me to see where we were at.  When she checked, she said "Oh the baby is ready to come out."  I was dilated to a 10 already!  She then told me not to move (not like I really could being so numb), and she would call Dr. Twede again to tell him to get down here asap.

The nurse and a few others got everything set up and ready to go, so when Dr. Twede got there I was ready to start pushing.  Dr. Twede got there around 2:40pm, then we started pushing.  With Nyles I didn't technically get to push him out.  When I started pushing w/ Nyles his heart rate kept going down, plus he was facing the wrong way.  So what ended up happening is that Dr. Twede put a vacuum on Nyles' head in order to turn him the right way (he should be facing the floor not the ceiling), and as I had a contraction he asked me to push.  As Dr. Twede was turning Nyles, he ended up pulling at the same time.   He got his head out, then unwrapped the umbilical cord, which was wrapped around his neck twice, then finished pulling him out.

So....with Carter, I actually pushed him out per say with the contractions.  Thankfully it only took about 4 contractions with Carter to get him out.  And even though I didn't push very long, it was still hard work.  As I pushed, Carter's chin was getting caught and I was starting to tear, so Dr. Twede ended up making a small incision to make more room per say.  Carter's face then came out, then his shoulders and the rest of him.  Dr. Twede then laid him on me while they clamped the umbilical cord and whatnot.  As with Nyles, when he placed Carter on me, I started crying.  With both of them I was both relieved that they were finally out, and moreso I felt the Spirit witness to me how precious they were and how fortunate we are to be their parents.  As most mother's can say, it's a spiritual experience for sure.

As Dr. Twede stitched me up, Steve went over to be w/ Carter.  They weighed him and said he was 9 pounds 2 ounces and 21 inches long!  I was completely surprised how big he was!  I knew he was going to be a little bigger than Nyles, especially since Nyles was 3 weeks early, but I didn't think that much bigger.  I thought he'd be around 8 pounds, not 9.  He didn't, and still doesn't, look that big to me.  He's healthy though, which is most important and which we're most thankful for.  As they gave him back to me he started rooting around wanting to nurse, so I did.  He picked up nursing right away and has been doing really well.  Since he was born he's been eating about every 2-3 hours, sometimes every 4.

Carter just born, getting cleaned up and evaluated by the Drs.

Steve getting to hold him now.

Back to be w/ Mommy.

While we were "laboring" Nyles was spending time w/ Grandma Joann and Grandpa Dave.  Here are a few things he was up to.  First, now that he was going to be a "big brother" he wanted to wear his new underwear, size 4, from Monster's University Characters (they were on sale; he didn't really know who they were but thought they were fun).  :)

Next, he went w/ Grandma Joann to her chiropractor appointment.  Since it's the same one we go to, he was very comfortable going and knew right where to find the toys to play with.

Then back to Joann's house where he was playing w/ more toys.

 Then Nyles had a fun and exciting time of watching a tree get cut out from Dave/Joann's yard.

Getting a closer look outside w/ Grandpa.

 Then eating some lunch and watching Curious George

Of course since Nyles was so excited playing w/ Grandma and Grandpa and waiting for his little brother to be born, he didn't take a nap until on the way to the hospital in the car.  Silly kid.

After we were able to go to our recovery room, Dave, Joann and Nyles came to visit.  Nyles was so excited to finally meet his little brother.  He sang him a couple songs after meeting him.  Nyles has been doing that now, breaking out into song when he wants to tell us something.  It's pretty cute :)

Meeting Grandma Joann McGrath, and big brother Nyles.

Meeting Grandpa Dave McGrath.

McGrath boys: Dave, Steve, Nyles and Carter.

After visiting, Dave, Joann, Steve and Nyles all went home.  I did pretty good for a while, in terms of pain, since my epidural meds hadn't worn off.  But during the middle of the night I was starting to really hurt, so I finally decided to tell the nurse and get some pain meds.  Needless to say I didn't sleep much that night between hurting and of course being interrupted to take my vitals and feed Carter.  The next morning Steve and Nyles came back to the hospital to visit again.  Nyles wanted to help give baby Carter a bath, but he pooped during the night and got some on himself, so the nurses bathed him before Nyles came back that morning.  Though he didn't get to give Carter a bath, Nyles was still really happy to see him again!

Pauline came and took some photos of Carter on Friday before leaving the hospital as well.  They are so precious.  Here are few of my favorites.

        

Ready to go home!

Nyles and Joann made a cute welcome home sign for Carter and me.

That afternoon Rose and the girls came to visit and meet Carter.
Aunt Rose, and cousins Ali and Ava (Sophia was playing w/ Nyles and Summer was on Trek).  

 Pretty flowers from Mom/Dad and Dave/Joann.  Thanks they were beautiful!

 First bath at home.

He lost just a small amount of weight before leaving the hospital, he went down to 8 pounds 9 ounces.  Then on Monday he had his first Dr. visit w/ his Pediatrician, Dr. Jeff Erickson, which is the same one Nyles goes to.  He weighed 8 lb 13 oz and was 21.25 inches long.  Dr. Erickson was glad to see his weight come back up.   He said you can definitely tell he is nursing well and getting good nutrition; so keep it up!  I was pretty exhausted and our appointment was in the morning, so Steve took both Carter and Nyles and let me sleep.  So thoughtful!  Thanks honey!

Nyles reading Carter a story.

Carter just taking a nap in his bouncer.

On Tuesday, Dave, Joann, Diane, and LuDean came over to visit.  We had pizza together for dinner and visited for a while.
4 Generations of McGraths:  LuDean, Dave, Steve, Nyles and Carter.

LuDean, Dave and Carter.  Joann holding Carter.

Carrie also was in town and came to visit before heading back to Denver.
Cousin Lynsie holding Carter.  She was really excited to hold him and actually held him for a while.

Carter playing "peek-a-boo."  No, he just likes his hands by his binky.

We are SOOOO happy to finally meet Carter!  He is such a sweetheart.  Though it's a little exhausting sometimes with a newborn, we are so glad he is here and part of our family.  I feel like our home is more complete now that he is here.  I'm glad I'll have the Summer to spend with our little family and enjoy these precious moments.  We are so blessed!